Késsinnimek - Roots - RacinesMon Petit Coin by Norm Léveillée
Longfellow Reads Longfellow: Dreams That Cannot Die
A living distant cousin of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) has produced a lovely CD recording of his ancestor's writings including some excerpts from the epic poem "Evangeline".
It took three years to produce the CD and book titled, "Longfellow Reads Longfellow- Dreams That Cannot Die: Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, adapted by Layne Longfellow".
Layne Longfellow, 65, is obviously proud of his cousin's literary work.
Longfellow was a kind, caring, intelligent, sweet and good man with a social conscious," he says. "He wrote Evangeline because his heart told him to do so and his mind agreed," explains his cousin.Evangeline is the very rare myth that defined history because the story of love lost as a result of the horrible 1755 le Grand Derangement of the Acadians from Nova Scotia is a metaphor for the entire expulsion.
Longfellow produced an artfully designed CD and book about his famous cousin which includes readings from some of the best known poems, including "Evangeline".
Hopefully, all Mainer's know about the state's famous native son and poet, who wrote many familiar poems. He grew up on Congress Street in Portland, up the street from the city square where his statue presides. Today, Longfellow's home is headquarters for the Maine Historical Society.
Maine's Franco-Americans are (or should be) familiar with the poet's important contribution to the Franco-American and Acadian culture because his epic poem "Evangeline" immortalizes a horrible event in colonial French history. Published in 1856, "Evangeline" is a fictional love story depicting the tragic 1755 Acadian expulsion by the British from Nova Scotia (Acadia). Acadians call the brutal expulsion "les Grand Derangement". Some refugees who escaped the expulsion were among the earliest colonial settlers in Maine's St. John Valley.
I was drawn to record my cousin's poetry because he's a man who knew tragedy in his life," says Cousin Longfellow. Indeed, Longfellow tried in vain to save his wife's life when she was horribly burning to death as a result of a household accident. Naturally, the emotional trauma of seeing his wife's violent inadvertent death affected Longfellow during the last part of his life.
Longfellow immortalized the historic events of le Grand Derangement through the tale of two young lovers who were forcibly separated as they prepared to marry in their village of Grand Pre Nova Scotia. The two spend the remainder of their lives searching for one another after they are separated by the British and sent to places around the world, or "scattered to the wind". The lovers are symbolic of the thousands of Acadians who longed to be reunited to their land and family roots after the expulsion. In fact, many Acadians continue searching for their roots even 255 years after the expulsion.
Evangeline is an elegant statement of idealized devotion," writes Longfellow about his cousin's poem. "It required several readings to get through the recording of the closing segment of the poem without audibly choking up," he writes.
Longfellow is currently a native of Ohio. He is descended from Longfellow's younger cousin Michael. When Henry Longfellow left Maine to live in Cambridge, his cousin Michael also left his home in Palermo, ME to live in Ohio at the same time.
Poems read on "Longfellow Reads Longfellow" were recorded live at the poet's home on Congress Street in Portland. Illustrations printed in the accompanying book are engravings from original publications of Longfellow's books. "Dreams That Cannot Die" is available at Longfellow Books and at the Maine Historical Society in Portland. Also, the set can be purchased from the website
Juliana L'Heureux
Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines
Copyright © 2003 Norm Léveillée
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Created 1 Feb 2003